Messi once tipped Mason Mount for world's best — now he's missing England's World Cup squad

Lionel Messi once identified Mason Mount as a player with the potential to become one of the best in the world. Six years on, the Manchester United midfielder has not been selected in Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man England squad for the 2026 World Cup — a stark illustration of how sharply his career trajectory has changed.

The prediction came in 2020, when Messi was asked by trading card company Topps to nominate 15 youngsters he considered the next generation of global stars. Mount, who had made his Champions League debut just months earlier, was included in the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s list. Messi was unequivocal in his assessment: “Having watched him play he has the potential to be one of the best.”

Mount, then a teenager breaking into Chelsea’s first team under Frank Lampard, admitted he could barely believe the praise was real. “When you see and read something like that, it gives you the motivation to just want to get better and better,” he said at the time.

For a period, the prediction looked well-founded. Mount made 53 appearances in his breakthrough season under Lampard, scoring eight goals, before playing a central role under Tuchel as Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time in their history in 2021, contributing nine goals in 54 matches across that campaign.

The decline, however, was swift. After Chelsea’s takeover by BlueCo, Mount’s playing time fell sharply, and in July 2023 he left the club after 18 years to join Manchester United. Since arriving at Old Trafford, persistent injuries have restricted him to just 54 Premier League appearances across three seasons, preventing him from ever establishing himself as a consistent presence in the side.

His last England cap came in March 2023, while he was still at Chelsea. Neither Gareth Southgate nor Tuchel has recalled him since, meaning Mount has now missed both Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup. At 27, an age when most midfielders are entering their peak years, he finds himself on the outside looking in at a tournament his former manager at Stamford Bridge is now overseeing.